The City of Le Havre

The largest city in Normandy, with about 200,000 inhabitants, Le Havre is also a seaside resort with a 2 km beach just 500m away from the city centre. Students can thus enjoy a pleasant living environment that offers many cultural, intellectual and sports opportunities.

In July 2005, the UNESCO listed the Le Havre city centre, rebuilt by architect Auguste Perret after WW2 as World Heritage. This prominent architect of the 20th century, a true ‘poet of concrete’, original and innovative, with his Atelier Perret managed to be inspired both by the classical tradition and a strong determination to modernise, and re-invented on 133 hectares a unique city whose architecture is straightforward, airy, harmonious and deliberately innovative.

In the tradition of its maritime and port history, the Le Havre heritage tells the saga of a city shaped by great architects: Bellarmato, Thibault, Lamandé, Perret, Niemeyer and soon, Reichen & Robert as well as Nouvel…
The Le Havre city centre was the first 20th century urban area in Europe to be listed as World Heritage.

Le Havre enjoys a privileged geographical and nautical location. As a gateway between Northern waters and the Atlantic Ocean, and blessed with almost a 3-hour slack high tide, the port of Le Havre is the n°1 French port for exports and containers, and the 5th port in Europe.

Leisure Activities

Thanks to its 2 km beach, Le Havre is a seaside resort that allows the practice of any sea sport. Le Havre is one of the most favourite spots in France: Southwesterly and Northwesterly winds are ideal for kite-surfing or windsurfing….The beach area also allows many other leisure sports: skateboard (the largest open-air free skatepark in France), volleyball courts, playgrounds for children, pétanque alleys, bicycle paths.

Many other sports are also offered to people in Le Havre, such as watersports, skateboard, sports grounds, tennis courts, squash, dojos, riding centres, gymnasiums, …